Emergency services raced to a property in Derby on Tuesday night following reports of a suspected gas explosion – which reduced a terraced property to rubble and left one man in hospital
A man has been taken to hospital after suffering injuries in a gas explosion that caused an entire terraced property to collapse and catch fire – as locals reported hearing a “massive boom”.
Derbyshire Police said emergency services were called to a property on Eden Street in Derby, at 7:24pm following reports of a suspected gas explosion. A man was taken to hospital, but the extent of his injuries is not yet known. One shaken local told how emergency services arrived and urged residents to stay indoors shortly after a “massive boom” rang out. “It shook the whole house. The whole street was out in seconds,” Nancy Lehigh, who lives on Eden Street, told the BBC. The massive explosion also sparked a blaze, with fire trucks, ambulances, and incident response vehicles swarming to the area.
A cordon was placed around the scene on Tuesday evening as police carried out enquiries. In the aftermath of the blast, images showed the collapsed terraced home – reduced to heaps of bricks, wood and broken beams. A neighbouring property also appeared to have suffered damage to its roof.
Derbyshire Fire and Rescue Service said it had four appliances, a command unit and supporting officers at the scene, including help from gas distribution company Cadent.
A spokesperson for Cadent said: “We were there within half an hour but, as of yet, haven’t been able to get access to the property because the fire service are still dealing with the fire. We have no indication of what has caused this yet, but are assisting the fire service and once we can access the property, will do what we need to to make it safe.”
The blast triggered a number of road closures in the neighbourhood, including that of Eden Street, London Road and Shardlow Road – with people urged to avoid the area. The emergency services are yet to confirm the extent of damage caused to the property following the suspected explosion.